Hardcore gamer marries virtual girlfriend

She exists only in his Nintendo DS, but that's no barrier to love

In one of the odder stories of the weekend, a Tokyo man held a wedding reception on Sunday with his bride being not of the pretty standard human form, but a virtual character inside his Nintendo DS.

The groom, known only as SAL9000, has already taken his 'wife' on a honeymoon to Guam, where he took photos and video of him with his DS Lite running the Japanese game Love Plus.

Konami smash hit

According to statements he's made to the fascinated/puzzled local media, SAL900 fell in love with a character called Nene Anegasaki, who plays a high school girl in the dating simulation game from Konami.

If all that isn't disturbing enough, you'll doubtless be intrigued to learn that Love Plus uses the DS's touchscreen to allow the virtual characters to be touched, to which they react according to their mood, and the microphone to permit players to have a real-time chat with the pixel-based women.